This invention relates generally to apparatus which is portable and which permits a user to selectively close a door from a remote location in a room such as an office.
Devices for automatically opening and closing a door are well known. Most commonly, they include an actuator such as a switch secured to a structure surrounding the door or a sensor as in the floor or over the door to detect the presence of a person approaching the door. The actuator may control an electrical motor and mechanical drive mechanism, such as a radius arm that extends out over the door to transmit an opening and closing force to the door. In other cases, doors which are biased to a closed position as by a spring or pneumatic device may be held opened by a magnetic latch which can be remotely deactivated to allow the door to close.
All of these known operating devices require that a drive mechanism for operating the door be physically attached to the door and to an adjacent structure, such as the wall or door frame. Once installed, they are not intended to be moved to different locations, and typically require extensive modifications to a door or to its frame or adjacent walls in order to be later added or removed.
There are a number of situations where remotely controlled automatic door closers are desirable. For example, in an office environment, a professional may need to close his or her office door for privacy or to reduce noise from outside without disrupting his or her conversation, meeting or work to get up, walk to the door, and physically close it. While there are devices which will allow the occupant to close a door from a remote location within a room, they have not found wide applicability. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,331 to Merendino et al. discloses a remotely controlled door opening and closing device which may be operated from a remote location. However, this device and all other similar known devices suffer from the disadvantages of complicated construction and the necessity of being physically attached to the door and surrounding structure. In a commercial office building where office space is leased, it is not cost effective or practical for a landlord to provide such devices, and it may be too expensive and impractical for a tenant to add or remove them subsequently, especially where occupants of offices may be subject to change.
It is desirable to provide automatic door closing apparatus which avoids the foregoing and other disadvantages of known devices, and which enables an occupant in a room to close a door automatically from a remote location in the room, and to easily move the apparatus to different rooms. It is to these ends the present invention is directed.